Letter-box.



y Patented Oct. 23, I900. 'A. L. HENRY.

L ETT E B B0 X (Appliqation filed Aug. 4, 1900.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR flndTewzJyenr A T70 E)" "ms nonms Pnsas coy. vncrou'ma,WASHINGTON b. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW L. HENRY, OF LADOGA, INDIANA.

LETTEER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,329, dated'Octo'ber23, 1900.

Annlioatiou filed August 4, 1906. Serial No. 25,917- No model.) 7

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW L. HENRY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ladoga, in the county of Montgomery and State ofIndiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLetter-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my said invention is to produce a convenient and efficientletter-box by means of which mail-matter can be both de-; livered andcollected. signed for use in what is known as the rural-f deliverysystem, where the letter-boxes are commonly placed on posts, trees, orfences at the roadside, frequently some distance from g the houses ofthe users of said boxes.

Sa1d1n vention consists in a letter-box of any usual or desired form andhaving a simple door through which delivered mail may be rein questionbeing adapted to be locked by a lock selected by the user of the box andthe shifting receptaclebeingadapted to be locked by a regular-mail-lock,which can only be unend under the hood-like projection h, secured lockedby the postmans key.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof andon which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figure lis a front elevation of a mailbox embodying my said invent-ion; Fig. 2,a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a longitudinal vertical sectionalview thereof on asomewhat-enlarged scale; Fig. 4, a transverse verticalsectional view looking tothe left or toward the front end of the boxfrom the dotted line 4 5 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a similar View looking tothe right or toward the rear of the box from said dotted line 4 5 inFig. 3; Fig. 6, a view similar to the upper portion of Fig. 4 when theinternal portion or introducingreceptacle for the mail is revolved, aswhen delivering mail into the box; and Fig. 7, a horizontal sectionalview as'seen when looking downwardly from the dotted line 7 7 in Fig. 3.

The box B may be any suitable box desired. I prefer to make it ofsubstantially the ordinary or conventional form. It is provided with adoor D, preferably hinged at the upper edge on a suitable hinge-pintle dand is It is especially deadapted to be locked at the lower edge by anylock preferred by the user, as an ordinary padlock P, the hasp portionof which may pass through a perforation in a projection on said door andthrough a corresponding perforation in the adjacent lower edge of thebox, as is best shown in Fig. 3, or otherwise, as may be desired. Acircular opening is form ed in the front end of this box B above thedoor D, and a cylindrical receptacleO, corresponding in size to saidcircular opening, occupies the upperportion of the box. Itis notacomplete cylinder, as the upper side is open, and the body portionbetween the ends may be termed a semicylinder; but the ends or headsshould be circular.

As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5,-flanges ff extend out into the box fromthe sides thereof and constitute tracks upon which corresponding flangesc 0' along the sides of the receptacle 0 rest. This receptacle 0 isadapted to be drawn out endwise from the main box after the manner of adrawer, as shown by means of the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and when sodrawn out anything which has been placed therein by the boxmser may beremoved by the postman. This receptacle can be drawn out also to receivemail, or mail can be inserted through the slit in its circular frontthereto. When this receptacle is pushed in, it is adapted to be lockedby the regular postmans lock L, the hasp portion of which is t adaptedto pass through a perforation in an ear e thereon and in a correspondingear e on the body of the box.

As shown in Fig. 7, one of the flangesfand the corresponding flange 0each extend about one-half the length of the device, so that when thereceptaele G is pushed clear in the flanges on one side are clear ofeach other, so that it is no longer supported by the flanges on saidside. It is, however, provided with a gudgeon g, which enters a bearingb in the rear end of the box just before the short flange c escapes fromthe short flange f. When in thisclosed position, therefore, except whenthelock L is in place, this cylindrical receptacle or drawer can berotated axially a halfrevolution, so that whatever it contains may bedumped into the box proper when in this position. A strike or stop 8prevents any greater movement. It also prevents the I do tirely out, andsome means for preventing this is necessary to the best results. As thecylindrical receptacle or drawer is being moved in and out it isprevented from tilting too much by an arrp a, secured to its circularrear end and which bears against the under side of the upper portion ortop of the box, while the bottom of said receptacle rests on the edge ofthe portion of the front end of the box through which itpasses.

Bearing in mind that the padlock P and that the postmans lock L areseparate and distinct locks, and that the postman only has a key to thelock L, while the user of the box only has a key to the lock P, it willbe readily seen that this mail-box furnishes an exceedingly-convenientmeans for distributing and collecting mail. It further provides a devicewhereby the delivered mail may be kept locked against all persons butthe box-user,

irrespective of whether the upper receptacle be locked or unlocked. Ifthe postman has mail to deliver, he stops at the box, pulls out thecylindrical receptacle, deposits the mail therein, pushes saidreceptacle in to the limit of its movement, turns it a half-revolution,thus dumping said mail into the box proper, revolves it back to itsoriginal position, and drives on. The box-user at his convenienceunlocks the padlock P, opens the door D, and receives his mail. When thebox-user desires to leave mail in the box to be collected by thepostman, he places it in the cylindrical receptacle 0, pushes it in, andlocks it with the postinans lock L, which, as is well known, is commonlya spring-lock. The postman, in passing under such circumstances, seeingthat the box is locked will understand that there is mail to becollected and will stop,

unlock the cylindrical receptacle, pull it out,

and take the mail. If the cylindrical receptacle is not locked and hehas no mail to leave, the postman will drive on without stopping. Thefact of whether the receptacle 0 is locked or unlocked thereforeconstitutes a signal to the postman. As on a majority of the trips alarge proportion of the, box-users on the route have no mail to becollected and receive none, it will be seen that this arrangement savesa considerable portion of the postmans time and enables him to do hiswork much more promptly and expeditiously than where he is compelled tostop at each box to ascertain the facts. After the box-user has placedmail in the rotary receptacle or drawer and has locked the same bysnapping the postlnans lock L, should it be desired to put additionalmail therein it may be done through the slit in the front end thereofunder the hood h. The user therefore is not precluded from frequent usesof the box by reason of the fact that the same is locked.

Having thus fully described my said in vention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mail-box comprising two compartments one of which is provided withan ordinarydoor adapted to be independently locked and the other ofwhich consists of a receptacle adapted to be pulled out but providedwith means whereby it is prevented from being entirely separated fromthe box and adapted when pushed in to be rotated whereby its contentscan be dumped into the bottom of the box, said drawer also being adaptedto be secured by an independent lock.

2. The combination, in a mail-box, of the box proper, a cylindricalstructure mounted therein adapted to be pulled out and pushed in afterthe manner of a drawer, flanges constituting the drawer-slides, theflanges upon one side being of such length that when the drawer ispushed in completely they will pass each other,whereby said structure isadapted to be rotated, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a mail;box, of the main box structure, a doorthereto, a drawer positioned above said door and adapted to beindependently locked, said drawer being pi votally mounted whereby it isadapted to be rotated, and a strike whereby excessive rotation of thesame is prevented.

4. The combination, in a mail-box, of the box proper provided with adoor, a rotatable drawer mounted therein above said doorand adapted tobe independently locked, said rotatable drawer being provided with anarm, as (6, whereby it is sustained in position and excessive tippingprevented, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of a box provided with a door, a rotatablesliding-drawer structure therein, said door and said structure beingadapted to be independently locked, and said rotatable structure havinga slit in its end through which mail may be inserted after the same islocked, and a hood over said slit, substantially as set forth.

6. A mail-box, the bottom portion whereof constitutes a mainreceiving-compartment the same being provided with an ordinary door, anda receiving and delivering com partment slidably and rotatably mountedin the upper portion of said box adapted to discharge mail into the maincompartment in delivering, and to receive and hold mail for collection,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, in a mail-box, of the main box structure containingasuitable ordinary drawer-support along one side and a shortdrawer-support along the other side, and a rotatable drawer mounted onsaid supports which support said drawer in right-sideup position whenpulled out but permit the rotation thereof when pushed in, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and sea], atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 2d day of August, A. D. 1900.

ANDREW L. HENRY.

